Article excerpt

Byline: Anne Sponholtz, County Line correspondent

It was business as usual at Tuesday's Keystone Heights City Council meeting, yet everyone from the council to the city staff to the members of the unusually large audience knew this meeting marked a milestone.

However, it was not until moments before Mayor Archie Green brought down the gavel announcing the end of the meeting that anything was said, and then it was only a brief comment from the city clerk.

"I just want to say what an honor it has been working with Mayor Green and Vice Mayor [Ginger] Johns," said Karen Nelson, mentioning the fact that Green has been on the council for 15 years.

Both Green and Johns were defeated in the March election, and Tuesday's meeting ended a 15-year career as a council member and mayor for Green. After the meeting, Lyndel Hale, who will take over as mayor on April 6, commended Green for his service to the community.

"I respected the fact that he was always conscientious about following the law," Hale said. "He was good to the senior citizens and always wanted things to be done the right way."

Green began his tenure on the council when he was the sole candidate on the ballot for an open council seat. He became mayor eight years ago, a spot that in Keystone Heights is an elected position and comes with voting rights.

However, Green had reached the city's term limits and could no longer run for mayor. He decided to run for the seat held by Johns. Although Johns had not reached the term limit for her seat, she decided to run for mayor. She was defeated by Hale and Green was defeated by Bruce Harvin.

"I'm not that disappointed," Green said in an interview. "I will miss a lot of my friends, but maybe it's a good thing I get out at this point."

Green, a computer consultant, said now he can spend more time on his business. He also said he has no intention of running for office in the future.

But Green leaves behind a number of projects, which he said he takes a great deal of pride in having accomplished the past 15 years. …